One of the great misconceptions in classical music is the
primacy of the score—those dots, lines, and staves printed on
paper that purportedly inscribe a single path to sonic
paradise.
In the 20th century, scores grew in complexity and
commanding power. More dashes, lines, numbers, and squiggles adorned
the notes; composers festooned the music with detailed directions,
sometimes resorting to footnotes. The second movement of Berg’s 1935
Violin Concerto has footnotes at measures 39, 80, 170, and
elsewhere.
Demanding total control of the performer’s body, Brian
Ferneyhough peppered his Unity Capsule (1975–1976) for
solo flute with precise, hortatory instructions. In one section, the
flutist’s playing stance should freeze for “15 seconds of absolute
silence and lack of movement” and, after a flurry of notes in six rapid
measures (a mere 20 beats) later, the player must “remove instrument
from lip abruptly.”
A few composers revolted against the traditional score and
its ever-accumulating complexity. The spare lines and abundant blank
space of Earle Brown’s revolutionary December 1952 leaves
everything—the notes, tempo, and even the instruments—up to
the performer. The massive Treatise (1 of 193 pages is
depicted above) of Cornelius Cardew (1936–1981) is the
kabbalah of graphic scores, an enigmatic encyclopedia of shapes,
traditional notation, and symbols. The resulting music cannot be
predicted.
Cardew’s longtime compadre, legendary experimental guitarist
Keith Rowe, has been involved with Treatise since its
inception in the early 1960s. For this performance of Treatise,
he leads an ensemble of local experimental musicians including members
of Climax Golden Twins and Aono Jikken as well as
Stuart Dempster, who performed in the work’s 1967 U.S. premiere.
Don’t miss it. 
Hear Treatise Mon Oct 15 (Fourth-floor Chapel
Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N), 8 pm,
$5–$15 sliding-scale donation.
Thurs 10/11
THE TIPTONS
Fronted by saxophonists Jessica Lurie and Amy Denio, the Tiptons
unleash frenetic riffs in funky meters derived from Balkan and
Mediterranean music. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, 547-6763, 5—7 pm, free with museum admission.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
This micro-Mozart festival showcases the immortal Requiem,
which features the silken-voiced soprano Harolyn Blackwell. Also on the
docket: the overture to Die Zauberflöte and the
Concerto for Clarinet with clarinetist Jon Manasse. Also Fri
Oct 12 at 7 pm, Sat Oct 13 at 8 pm, and Sun Oct 14 at 2 pm.
Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm,
$20—$110.
Fri 10/12
DANIEL BERNARD ROUMAIN
I’m still waiting for a successful union of classical music and
hiphop; merely placing a Bach melody atop a beat just won’t cut it.
Surely, someone can translate hiphop’s poetry, its ravishing
inflections of the voice as well as exploit the space within a midtempo
groove and meld it all into a polyphonic, symphony-sized form?
Roumain’s earlier work probed those directions, but here he presents
his violin in tandem with prepared piano and projected video,
ruminating on “feelings of loss, isolation, and optimism.” Moore
Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 292-2787, 8 pm, $22—$38.
HADLEY CALIMAN QUARTET
Once nicknamed “Little Dex,” this friend and disciple of Dexter
Gordon still sounds robust and lyrical. Caliman and his tenor saxophone
cast a spell at a gig last December that still holds me. Tula’s,
2214 Second Ave, 443-4221, 8:30 pm—12:30 am, $12.
Sat 10/13
KEITH EISENBREY
A vestige of a bygone age when pianists composed and improvised,
Eisenbrey plays piano pieces by Gavin Borchert, Benjamin Boretz, and
Lockrem Johnson, along with several of his own compositions.
University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St,
632-5163, 2 pm, $10 suggested donation.
ANN CUMMINGS
One of the few pianists in town who can triumph with the vertiginous
piano music of Franz Liszt, Cummings sallies through pieces from the
Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses (the “Miserere” and
“Andante Lagrimoso”), the Transcendental Etudes (“Mazeppa”),
and his underrated late works (“Czardas Macabre,” Weigenleid).
Sherman-Clay Piano & Organ, 1624 Fourth Ave, 622-7580, 5:30 pm,
$9/$15.
APOSTROPHE 10
Forgotten too soon after their mid-1990s heyday, …kagel… were
one of the few local ensembles that fused acoustic instruments with
electronic sound so ferociously that it was hard to tell who was doing
what. The seldom-seen bassist Mark Collins, a crucial member of
…kagel…, joins Apostrophe’s hour-long fusion of poetry, dance, and
sound. Collins collaborates with poet Alicia Cohen and dancer Amelia
Reeber. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 8 pm, $5—$15
sliding-scale donation.
Weds 10/17
JOSHUA ROMAN
The star cellist spearheads an evening of music for solo
instruments. Double bassist Joe Kaufman essays “Failing: A Difficult
Piece for Solo String Bass” by one of the great yet overlooked
minimalists, Tom Johnson; percussionist Alexander Lipowski tackles
Vinko Globokar’s Corpus; Roman plays a solo cello piece by
Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, and more. Town Hall, 1119
Eighth Ave, 800-838-3006, 7:30 pm, $15—$20.
